Grayscale
by FlyingShadow09
Summary: The wizarding world is becoming less black and white by the minute as the war against Voldemort approaches. Does a mysterious man that returns Harry's wand after the death eater attack at the world cup give Harry the opportunity to stand against Voldemort and survive the war? (Slash, M/M, Manipulative Dumbledore)
1. Prologue: An Accident?

**Prologue: An Accident?**

It was an accident...maybe...probably...he couldn't quite remember, it all happened so fast. Phineas hadn't meant for Orion to die, truly he hadn't. Or had he? he wasn't sure anymore.

He'd been angry...and scared. He didn't like the way Orion, his grandfather, touched him when he smelled so strongly of Ogden's finest. He had pushed him away and then he'd fallen...Then Orion was dead and it was Phineas' fault. It had been an accident though...Hadn't it?

They'd been at the opposite end of the stair way. If Orion hadn't consumed an entire bottle of the liquor he wouldn't have stumbled awkwardly down the hall or tumbled down the flight of stairs...He wouldn't have broken his neck and died.

Phineas stood at the top of the stair looking in horror at his grandfather. The demonic specter that came to his room at night wouldn't bother him anymore...but Phineas hadn't wished him dead...Had he?

Was he a murderer at 8 1/2 years old? Was what his grandparents (and the rest of the wizarding world) believed of him true? Was he a danger to everyone around him simply because he was a lycan?

It was true that no one else his age would have been able to push Orion so hard...Maybe they were right...Phineas was evil by the virtue of his birth. He'd been born bad, plain and simple.

He couldn't bring himself to move. This was the third (fourth? did Voldemort turning to ash count?) dead body he'd seen. His parents had sent him into hiding with his Godfather, Uncle James. But, Peter (once called Uncle as well, but not anymore) had betrayed them all and told Voldemort where they were hiding. James had died at the door to the house. Lily at the one to the nursery. Phineas had been prepared to die as well. He held his baby god brother in his arms and curled around the one year old with his back to the demonic man. The man cast the killing curse at him and Phineas felt pain like never before rocket through his body. He looked up at the mirror in time to see a surprised look pass over Voldemort's face as he crumbled to dust. The resulting explosion broke the mirror. It fell and but Harry's forehead. An odd light darted into the baby's open cut and it sealed.

Had Phineas killed Voldemort too? Was he just born wrong? Is that why everyone around him had bad things happen to them? Everything was just so confusing to the young boy who was still frozen at the top of the stairs looking down at his dead grandfather's body in shock.

Walburga finally (it had only been thirty seconds but it had felt like hours to Phineas) emerged from the kitchen to see what had crashed down the stairs. She screamed at the sight of her husband's dead body and looked up at her grandson standing at the top of the stairs.

"You killed him!" she screeched. Phineas just nodded...so he was a murderer then, that cleared some things up...he was bad apparently. Was he any different than the death eaters that ran around killing people? Had it really been an accident?

"I know where things like you belong!" She yelled, "Come along, I won't tolerate your presence for another second!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the fire place. Still in shock Phineas just let himself be towed into the floor network. He didn't even hear what destination she yelled.

"This thing is a murderous Lycanite! He killed his own Grandfather!" She informed the man behind the desk. Phineas was thrown into a cell and she left.

Still, it had been an accident...hadn't it?

A/N: Please leave constructive criticism.


	2. Chapter 1: An Odd Encounter

It had been terrifying. Harry wondered if this was a taste of what the War against Voldemort had been like. He worried what these events meant if you added them together with his dream and Trelawney's prophecy at the end of last year. It seemed the peace that had surrounded to wizarding world would soon be entirely shattered.

"Harry!" he heard the Weasleys shouting his name and began walking toward them. He felt around for his wand but couldn't find it...He'd dropped it. Now what would happen? that had been the only wand that would bond with him. If it was lost or broken Harry wasn't sure how he'd continue to do magic.

He waited until he could see it was the Weaseleys before responding (you never know, there were spells to replicate other people's voices after all). "Here I am!" He was instantly surrounded by the large family and Hermione as they all expressed either relief at his safety (Mr. Weasley and his children) or scolded him for not managing to stay with the group (Mrs. Weasley and Hermione).

In the next second screaming could be heard all around them and a shape appeared in the sky made of smoke. It was a skull with a snake around it and coming out of the mouth.

"What is it?" Harry asked. He didn't know where he'd seen it before, but it felt familiar.

"That," Bill responded (over his mother's "don't worry about it dear"), "is the Dark Mark. Symbol of the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who."

If the occasion hadn't been so serious Harry would have been tempted to say 'No I don't' as he often was when faced with the idea of speaking like that. It was a sign of just how tense everything was that the thought of responding in such a way hadn't even entered his mind at the time.

They didn't get long to think on what the dark mark appearing in the sky meant when someone approached the clearing that they were standing in. He was a small man (probably 5 feet tall at best) and painfully thin as well. He wore a beat up black three piece suit with matching black belstaff coat (which was in much better condition than the coat) Around his neck was a purple scarf. His hands had matching purple leather gloves on them and in his gloved hands he held a familiar wand.

"You," He stated slowly while looking directly into Harry's eyes, Harry was struck by the fact that the young man before him (at least Harry thought he was young. He felt both young and old simultaneously somehow) had copper colored irises, "dropped this back there." He spoke with an odd accent. It didn't match the dialects of anywhere in particular. It seemed to have aspects of French, Italian, Russian, and Arabic all at once.

He held the wand out to Harry for him to take. "Thank you," Harry replied. The small man had at least 30 scars running in all directions on his face. Perhaps he was a werewolf like Professor Lupin had been. However, if he reminded Harry of anyone it would have been his Godfather, Sirius Black. Perhaps the fact that this man was so similar to both his Godfather and his favorite professor was the reason that the odd man felt familiar. That didn't seem right, though, to Harry there had to be something else.

In the distance, directly under the Dark Mark, shouting began. Without another word the man spun on one of his booted heals (the boots, like the belstaff coat were in excellent condition) and disappeared the way he had come.

Harry looked at those around him and everyone seemed in varying degrees of wariness of the odd man who had returned his wand. All except Charlie that is. Ron's dragon handling brother had a look that managed to convey both heart break and horror on his face. Harry thought for a moment that the second eldest Weasley boy was going to chase after the man but then he had sighed in a resigned fashion.

The group made their way over to the shouting under the Dark Mark to see what had happened. There was a man unconscious on the ground. In the chaotic shouting Harry could make out things like "Supposed to be dead." and "Black wasn't the first then." Uniformed Aurors surrounded the man (Harry wasn't sure if their intention was to protect the man or to keep him contained...probably both)

The man was quickly put in some type of restraints and tied to a stretcher. A tall, bald, swarthy man seemed to be in charge as he assured everyone, "We will get to the bottom of this...I won't rest until I find out exactly how all of this happened. Especially how Barty Crouch Jr. Managed to escape when he's listed as dead." Another man was quickly arrested as well. Both were lead away.

His mind reeling with all that occurred, Harry followed everyone else back to their tent.


	3. Chapter 2: Reflections and Discussion

**A/N: All chapters will be written Third Person Limited, but the person that it is limited to will change in each chapter. I will list it in the top in future chapters to help avoid confusion. So far it has been:**  
 **Prologue: Phineas**  
 **Chapter 1: Harry**  
 **Chapter 2: Charlie (This Chapter)**

They got back to their campsite and were relieved to find that it was untouched by the chaos of the night. Charlie kept looking about as if expecting the small man to pop up again to offer advice or more lost things. He knew who the man was, although man wasn't the right word for him, he was a lycan after all. They all entered the tent and sat down around the common area.

Hermione, Ginny, and Percy seemed to almost be in shock, which was to be expected Charlie supposed. Hermione and Percy had so far only truly read about the harrowing things that made up the first war against...Voldemort...(Charlie was trying to overcome his fear by at least thinking the name) and Ginny had found herself trapped by him before, no doubt all of this was a bit too much for them. Fred and George would always be okay as long as the other was near by, they were likely more upset than they let on, but with time they would be fine. As far as Ron was concerned, Charlie knew his youngest brother needed time before things really hit him, Charlie felt that this would be an asset it the upcoming troubles (Charlie wouldn't delude himself into thinking the past was in the past).

That left Bill, his parents, and Harry for Charlie to consider while looking about. His Dad seemed almost resigned, as if tonight was inevitable. His older brother had more experience with traumatic situations and would likely come talk with him later. Despite being thousands of miles apart physically Charlie and his older brother had remained very close making sure to visit one another at least once every other month and to writing a couple times a week. Harry was unknown to Charlie, but the boy had seemed to almost completely relax when faced with...Phineas. He was sure that the man in the clearing who returned Harry's wand had in fact been the boys god-brother, Phineas Black.

Charlie and Bill had often played with Phineas when they had gone to see their uncles, Fabian and Gideon. The two men had felt that Phineas, the son of good friends of theirs, could use some friends his own age. Charlie and Bill had found out through talking to the other boy that he only really played with his cousin, Nymphadora Tonks, who was three months older than himself. Other than his cousin Phineas generally just spent time with his parents and their friends. As a result the other boy hadn't had a clue how to play. Bill thought Phineas was boring but Charlie had been instantly drawn the unusual boy.

Charlie still considered Phineas his best friend in the world, despite not seeing the other since they were six and seven (Phineas was the same age as Bill and thus older than Charlie) when his uncles had been killed by Death Eaters. There had just been something about the boy, a piece of his heart belonged to him. Charlie had only ever told Bill but he often had dreams of marrying Phineas and 'living happily ever after.'

When Bill had started Hogwarts he had written home with the bad news. Not only was Phineas not attending Hogwarts, but according to Tonks (who didn't like to be called Nymphadora) no one had seen him since a few days before Orion died. Charlie had been crushed and cried and moped about for months, when his mother asked what was wrong she had told him it was likely that the boy had had to go into hiding out of the shame of who is father was. Charlie hadn't believed her. He'd known in his heart that something was terribly wrong (to tell the truth he'd attributed most of his nightmares to that wrongness, and had known there was something wrong far before Bill had written home about their (his) missing friend).

Charlie hadn't realized that he was so out of it until Bill shook his shoulder. He looked around and realized that his mother was practically hysterical, "That man, he's evil I could feel it! What was he even doing with Harry's wand!"

"Molly," Arthur responded, "Harry dropped it, didn't you lad? He didn't take it from you did he?"

"No," Harry said, "I dropped it, but kept running because I was afraid they'd catch me...I didn't think he felt evil."

"Harry," Hermione screeched in shock, "All the hair on my neck stood up. He felt more evil then anything else I've ever seen or read about!"

"Hermione's right, Harry dear," Molly spoke with a condescending air that Charlie remembered well from the days of his youth. That tone meant that she thought you were just being a silly child and couldn't possibly have anything of use to add to the conversation. She still spoke to Bill and him like that on occasion, "That man is just no good, nearly bad as You-Know-Who, that one."

"Then why return my wand," Harry asked, "Couldn't he have used it to do...evil things...and not be tracked since it wasn't his wand?" To Charlie it seemed Harry was more informed than anyone truly gave the boy credit for.

Arthur sighed, "Harry, I don't like to make quick judgements about people, but," he shook his head and seemed quite upset to Charlie, "He felt dangerous to me."

"I think he just felt like a predator," Bill added and looked at Charlie. It seemed clear to Charlie that Bill realized that he hadn't felt what everyone else had felt during the encounter in the clearing.

"And predators are dangerous," Arthur reiterated his agreement with Molly that the man wasn't someone you wanted to spend time with.

"Maybe he was a vampire," Percy added, trying to sound like his usual confident self and not quite succeeding in not sounding terrified, "It is a full moon night after all, so he can't be a werewolf."

"Lycan," Charlie caught himself interrupting his younger brother to correct him, "Don't say werewolf. It's like calling muggleborns mudbloods."

"Lycan," Percy continued hesitantly, "Most other...non humans...have distinguishing features."

"Vampires are dangerous, and can't be trusted," Molly asserted, making Charlie frown.

"Not as a rule," Bill responded after looking carefully at his brother, "Lycans, Vampires, Elves, Dwarves, Centaurs, Goblins...they are all people. People can be good or bad."

Molly shook her head, "There was something about that one that was dangerous."

"Maybe he is dangerous," Charlie found himself saying, almost shocking himself, "I just don't think he is a threat to us. If Harry should trust anyone, maybe it should be him. Harry just said he didn't feel whatever you guys felt, well I didn't either."

"Charlie," Molly began. Charlie saw the twins settle in as they always did. Charlie had moved all the way to Romania because (among other reasons) he and his mother hadn't ever really seen eye-to-eye, partially because she seemed determined to always speak down to all her children, "There was an evilness about that man."

"No, there wasn't," Charlie insisted then looked directly at Harry, "That man is called Phineas Black, and he's not a man he's a Lycan. He disappeared some time during the couple years between the end of the war and when he should have gone to Hogwarts. I've asked around but no one really knows what happened. If there's anyone you can trust, my money is on him."


	4. Chapter 3: The Phineas Debate

**Focus: Percy**

Percy couldn't believe what his older brother said. Out of all his siblings he was definitely closest to Charlie (closely followed by Bill, he didn't really get on well with any of his younger siblings.) He had of course heard Charlie speak of his friend Phineas before. Tales of playing in their uncles' garden with a quiet child who seemed intent on reading and drawing rather than actually playing. It was always clear to Percy that Charlie missed Phineas more than anything, it seemed odd that his brother would have just stood there and let his friend disappear into the night. Maybe Charlie was just so shocked by his long missing friend's appearance that following him hadn't even occurred to him until it was too late.

He looked to his mother who seemed to be outraged by Charlie's assertions about the small man who had returned Harry's wand. It was always difficult for Percy growing up when Charlie fought with their mother (which seemed near daily from age 15 until he'd moved to Romania). He was so close to both of them that it hurt him to feel like he needed to chose sides.

In this particular incident he disagreed with both of them. His mother seemed to be blinded by prejudice and hysteria. His brother seemed to be blinded by love and a happy past. Unsure what to do he decided to follow Bill's lead. His eldest brother was neither blinded by prejudice nor overly attached to the idea of Phineas returning and being the person that they remembered.

His mother took a deep breath, no doubt ramping up to tell Charlie he couldn't have a clue what he's talking about, when a woman's voice broke the tension of the tent.

"Hey, Auror Tonks, here to check in with you," Bill and Charlie both grinned to see their old friend (who graduated from the academy 2 years ago).

"Tonks," Bill greeted, "What can you tell us about all of this?" he asked sweeping his arms out as if gesturing to the whole World Cup grounds.

"Not much I'm afraid," The metamorphmagus said her hair turning blue, "We verified that an unregistered wand found near that convict was used to cast the mark but we have more questions than answers at this point. Right now we are just trying to figure out what happened exactly."

"Well ask your questions," Author said inviting her into the tent. Percy believed, in that instant, that his father was quite relieved for a distraction from what was sure to have been a spectacular shouting match between mother and son.

"What did you see? Anything overly suspicious?" Tonks asked as she came in and sat down, pulling out a quill and notebook.

"Yes, we did see something very evil!" Molly quickly responded.

"Nothing you want to write down though," Charlie was quick to advise his friend, "It's to do with your cousin."

Tonks fair turned bright purple in her surprise, "Sirius or Phineas?"

"You can't know that Charlie!" Molly admonished her son.

"I can Mom," Charlie asserted. Bill nodded and came to stand shoulder to shoulder with Charlie. If Bill and Charlie both believed in the stranger they had met than Percy would too.

"Mom," Percy decided to cut in, hoping she would listen to him, "I think that maybe Charlie is right about who he is, and if he'd wanted to hurt us he had the chance."

"There were just too many of us. He was probably hoping to get Harry alone." Molly responded.

Arthur shook his head, "Well, we can fight about it all night long, but unless we give him veritaserum or find him an use legilimency than we will never know what we was really thinking. The fact is a short man dressing in strange clothes returned Harry's wand after he'd dropped it and then walked away."

Tonks looked at Charlie, "You think he was Phineas?"

"I know," Charlie said, sounding quite sad, "In my heart, I know it was him."

She nodded and closed her notebook without writing anything down, "Thanks for telling me, if you think of anything related to Barty Crouch...who I guess escaped Azkaban long before Sirius, with help...then please call the office. Call me for tea if you hear anything more from Phin."

With that she left to visit the next tent. Molly turned and looked ready to continue where she left off with Charlie when Arthur cut her off, "Let's just go to sleep. There is nothing more to discuss and Harry's not going to wander off looking for that man, are you Harry?"

"No, sir," Harry responded, though he seemed to be thinking of something else entirely, "I try not to go looking for trouble."

"Good lad, Harry," Arthur said before escorting his wife to their section of the tent, "You all go to bed too!"

The kids (Bill, Percy, and Charlie included) just looked at each other for a moment before doing as told. No amount of talking would make all that happened that night any clearer, best to just try to sleep and go on with life tomorrow.

Just before falling asleep Percy heard Charlie whisper quietly to Bill, "He's alive!"


	5. Chapter 4: Articles and Letters

Focus: None

 **Terror at the Quidditch World Cup**

In what appears to be a Ministry blunder a large group of wizards attacked the world cup, going so far as to torture muggles and only one man was apprehended, and he was unconscious at the time. This display of lax security measures managed to not only allow such a blatant display of anti-muggle violence take place, but also managed to reveal that Sirius Black (mass muggle murderer still at large) was NOT the first prisoner to escape Azkaban prison.

Bartemius Crouch Jr (Convicted Death Eater, declared dead) was the man found unconscious underneath the Dark Mark. Investigations into the matter concluded that his father, Bartemius Crouch Sr (Former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement), smuggled his son out of Azkaban after faking his death and hid his son in his house many years ago.

Another mystery is the manner in which Crouch Jr was made unconscious. He had marks on his neck consistent with being touched by a dementor which generally only occurs when a prisoner is attempting escape. Given the marks freshness this could not have occurred seeing as he was smuggled out of Azkaban years ago! No one has reported any presence of dementors at the World Cup. Has one gone rogue on the Ministry? How could it have been in the thick of things with no one feeling its presence?

Despite all that had happened this Ministry would like it made clear that "There is no evidence that You-Know-Who has returned. This is just an example of drunken escapades gone too far." This reporter feels like there are still too many questions unanswered. If anyone has more information please contact the Prophet offices or Auror headquarters at once!

Rita Skeeter

 _Dear Professor Lupin,_

 _I feel as if I should be calling you Uncle Moony, or at least Uncle Remus, isn't that what I would have called you had my parents lived through the first part of the war? I have a lot of questions and miss having tea and talking with you. Whenever I have a question about anything my first thoughts are to ask you. I wasn't sure if you would welcome a letter from me. Now, though, something happened and I feel that there is absolutely no one else that I can ask._

I don't think I should write too many details down. It has to do with one of the pictures I saw on your desk. I don't mean to intrude on your privacy, but I have to know more about him. Both hims really. I wish I didn't sound so cryptic but I really need to meet with you so that I can talk properly.

I will be at Gringots in three days. Could we please meet there? Something happened after the World cup. I'm sure you saw in the news, but there was more to it than that.

Sincerely,

Harry

 _Dear Padfoot,_

 _So much has happened since I last wrote you. I don't even want to write most of it down. I just wanted to let you know that I wasn't hurt during everything that happened in the World Cup. My scar hasn't hurt since then though, I don't know why. Maybe it was just a normal head ache and I was blowing it out of proportion and panicking because Wormtail got away._

 _Please don't worry about me. The Ministry seems to have stepped up security trying to catch that rogue dementor, or at least that is what Mr. Weasley says. I'm doing alright, I'll get my school things and be back at Hogwarts in 10 days._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Harry_

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I would be honored if you called me Uncle Remus (or even Uncle Remy). I am glad to hear from you, you aren't a bother or intruding. I had several pictures on my desk and would be willing to discuss any that you have questions about. I will see you at Gringots in two days._

 _Love,_

 _Uncle Remy_

 **Pettigrew Alive?**

Peter Pettigrew, who was blown up during the mass murders committed by Sirius Black (allegedly), was found alive today on the steps on the Ministry at Noon! This special evening bulletin from the Prophet seeks to keep its readers in the know.

We are all familiar with the story: Sirius Black, after his so called friends Lily and James Potter (parents of the-boy-who-lived) were killed tragically by you-know-who, was seeking to eliminate the rest of his light friends to ensure darkness prevailed even though his master was killed the night before. He started with Peter Pettigrew and in an act of overkill he caused an explosion that resulted in the deaths of 13 muggles as well as Pettigrew, the largest part of Pettigrew found was his finger.

Was that just a story? It would seem so, Peter Pettigrew was found with the same marks on the back of his neck as Crouch Jr had. Could it be possible the rogue dementor is being directed by a vigilante? He is being kept in St. Mungos surrounded around the clock by Aurors. Whether it is for his protection or ours this reporter can only guess. The case against Sirius Black has been reopened in light of these new details.

Rita Skeeter

 _Mr. Dalca,_

 _I know I said I would be back in two weeks, and I truly intended to. However, I have found out that my soul-mate is alive and somewhere around this area. He is a Lycanite and I haven't seen him since I was six! I want to request sabbatical leave, at least until I've had the opportunity to discuss the future with him. The circumstances under which we ran into each other were too stressful for us to actually be properly reunited. I'm sure you have read about the recent happenings involving the World Cup and Peter Pettigrew. I need to be here, with my family right now._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Charlus Weasley_

 _Dragon Handler L7_

 _Weasley,_

 _You are a fine dragon handler and you will be missed. Soul-mates are a powerful thing, I will grant your sabbatical. Come back when you can and keep us updated._

 _Good Luck,_

 _Florin Dalca_


	6. Chapter 5: Taking a Stand

Focus: Harry

After writing his letter to Remus Harry decided the best person to approach would be Charlie. The dragon handler had been at odds with Mrs. Weasley since he incident with Phineas at the World Cup. Harry wasn't a big fan of either Mrs. Weasley or Hermione since then either. Both females had been picking at Harry, trying to get him to do his homework (already done, and even though he hadn't told anyone he was switching from Divination to Ancient Ruins). They had also been talking incessantly about how evil Phineas was.

It seemed that everyone but Harry and Charlie had felt there was something dangerous or intimidating about the man. Harry knew something was going on with Charlie, he had started talking to Percy about finding a flat in London to share. When Mrs. Weasley had asked if he was coming home Charlie had said he still worked for Romania, but was taking a sabbatical.

Harry finally decided to talk to Charlie when it was just the three oldest Weasley boys alone outside, "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure Harry, What's up?" Bill responded.

"I want to do my own school shopping," Harry started, "I am supposed to meet Remus Lupin at Gringotts in three days. I just don't know how I'm going to get your mother to let me go."

"That could be a problem," Charlie said derisively.

"We can take you," Percy offered. Percy was the only one who was aware of Harry's change of schedule. The boy had approached the Head Boy half-way through third year. He had wanted out of divination and had decided to ask Percy if transferring was possible. The red head had talked to him about what class he wanted to take instead and then they had gone to talk to Professor Babbling with him. Percy had even tutored Harry to help him get caught up so that he could transfer into his own year's class for his fourth year.

"What about your mother?" Harry was genuinely concerned for Percy, as far as he knew Mrs. Weasley and Percy were very close, he didn't want to get between mother and son.

"Don't worry about that," Percy said with a shake of his head, "This whole World Cup things is making her crazy. You of all people know what danger is, hiding you away won't make you any safer. I know its cliche, but, knowledge is power."

"Besides, meeting up with your old Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Gringotts is probably way safe than the Burrow anyway," Bill agreed.

That night at dinner the everyone at the burrow, except for Arthur who was late getting home from work, was sitting around the table. Harry had sat between Percy and Ron with the twins direct across from them. Next to George sat Hermione who was glaring at Harry, though the boy couldn't figure out what he had done to piss his friend off. During a lull in conversation Hermione announced: "Bill, Charlie, and Percy are planning to help Harry sneak into Diagon Alley."

"What?" Molly said shrilly.

"Not sneak," Charlie amended, "I wasn't aware that we are keeping him prisoner, or that there was a law against Harry going into Diagon Alley. No sneaking necessary. Harry said he was supposed to meet Remus Lupin to talk, we said that we would take him there."

"He will not be going!" Molly ordered, "It isn't safe for him to be out and about, what with all the-"

"The what?" Charlie interrupted, "Harry will always be in danger, even Hogwarts can't guarantee his safety. Or is everyone else forgetting how his first and second year ended?" Charlie looked around the table and saw agreement in his siblings eyes, "Is he supposed to stay locked up for eternity over something that MIGHT happen?"

"Well no, once things calm down-"

"Things were calm," Bill interrupted this time, although he was much calmer than Charlie about it, "Besides, Harry knows he shouldn't go wandering about on his own, that's why he asked the three of us to accompany him until he met up with Mr. Lupin."

"It isn't safe," Hermione said, "How much do we really know about Lupin?"

"He's been the best DADA professor we've ever had," Ron defended, "Besides, Harry probably was talking about picking out some books at Flourish and Blotts." Harry nodded.

"I need to go Mrs. Weasley," Harry finally decided to start speaking up for himself when Mr. Weasely finally got home from work.

"You won't believe," Arthur began only to be interrupted by his wife.

"No, YOU won't believe what your sons are planning to do." She blustered.

"Molly please," Arthur cut in loudly, louder than Harry had ever heard the man talk, "Peter Pettigrew was found alive today." In the chaos it seemed that Harry's intentions of visiting Diagon Alley were entirely forgotten.

The next day Harry and Ron were woken by Percy where they met the twins and Ginny and lead down the stairs. The 8 of them flooed to the Leaky Cauldron before anyone else was awake. Bill had penned a note explaining that they had all gone to the Alley and that he and Charlie had decided to buy their siblings dress robes since this was the first year they had been required.

Harry and the Weasleys did all of their school shopping and ate lunch. Then he separated from them and headed into Gringotts. Once inside he saw Professor Lupin-Uncle Remy-sitting and looking lost in his thoughts.

Remus lead Harry to a run down hotel off the Alley and warded the room. Only to look ready to pass out when Harry mentioned Phineas.


	7. Chapter 6: A Man Lost

Focus: Remus

Remus Lupin, former Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, sat on a chair just inside the doors of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Had he been human he would probably have been chased off by the goblins hours ago, but those peoples deemed creatures by the current Ministry of Magic tended to make allowances for one another. Remus had arrived as soon as the banks doors had opened that morning, 7 hours ago, and he intended to wait until his honorary godson arrived.

He still couldn't figure out why, until he had seen Harry in the train on the way to Hogwarts, he had never sought Harry out. Why had he left well enough alone, and not gone to the Dursley home to check on Harry. Remus suspected things weren't ideal there. However, once he saw Harry on the train it was like a fog had been lifted. The troubling question is how had that fog gotten there in the first place.

He looked down in his lap at the two pictures he brought, the same ones that had sat on his desk during his stint as a Professor. One, a picture of Lily and James with Harry on the baby's first birthday. The other a picture of Phineas, his son, playing in a field with a large black dog, his mate, taken a few weeks before the one of the Potter family.

He would be happy to discuss the pictures with Harry, he would love to have a boy that should have been raised with him and Sirius. Things didn't work out that way though. After much deliberation they had decided to have Phineas go into hiding with the Potter family. It was supposed to be safer. They couldn't have known Peter was the mole. Phineas had objected, but Remus and Sirius had held firm, and reluctantly the boy went with his own godfather into hiding.

That Halloween night had been a full moon. He went down into the cellar with the belief all of them were safe, only to wake up with a black fox curled up against him and shaking. Phineas hadn't spoken that day, but Remus had been able to convince his son to turn into a boy. Three hours later aurors were banging on the door. They informed him that Sirius had committed mass murder, and that Lily and James were dead. Remus had been in too much shock to even enquire about Harry at the time. He had held Phineas close and the two had wept at their world falling apart around them.

After a visit to Dumbledore to be sure Harry was safe the next day Remus did his best to reassure Phineas that all was well but the boy still didn't speak. Three weeks later aurors came again, this time they took Phineas away. Walburga and Orion had enacted an ancient law which enabled them to raise their heir with out interference from others. Phineas had finally talked he had screamed "Papa, please" as they dragged the boy from the room. Remus never saw his son again.

Now, he hoped the same wouldn't happen with Harry. He loved his godson, and wanted to have a connection with the boy. He wanted to keep Harry safe in a way that everyone had failed before.

"Uncle Remy?" Harry said as he approached Remus, the man had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed the boy's arrival.

"Harry," He stood and hugged the teen, "How are you, with everything?"

"Can we go somewhere private?" Remus nodded and they left the bank and went to a room in a lesser known hotel off of Diagon Alley. Remus spelled the room with as many privacy spells as he knew.

"I saw Phineas," Harry said, "Or, at least, Charlie said he was Phineas. I think he might be right too, because his eyes were to same as the little boy in that picture on your desk."

Remus sat down heavily, "Phineas?"

A/N: A special shout out to Linda...my one and only reviewer for this story. Thanks so much, please keep reviewing!


	8. Chapter 7: Speculation on Phineas

Focus: Remus

Remus couldn't believe what he was hearing. Phineas, alive? After all of these years.

"When- Where- How-" Remus couldn't get his thoughts straight.

"After the World Cup, In the woods, I'd dropped my wand and he returned it." Harry said, "I thought he felt familiar, then Charlie said that his name was Phineas Black. It made me think of that picture of the little boy and Padfoot that you had on your desk."

Remus pulled that picture out of the pocket in his robe. "This one, it's my favorite one of them. I have a favorite one of Phineas and Sirius too," Remus sighed, "I was under the impression that Phineas was dead. Severus said that Lucius implied Walburga had killed him."

"Mr. Malfoy?" Harry questioned. Why would Mr. Malfoy know more about Sirius' son than Remus, his best friend did.

"Yes, when Walburga died either his godmother Andromeda or myself should have gotten custody of Phin, when nothing happened I wrote Sever-Professor Snape. He got back to me a couple months later and said that Lucius implied that Walburga had gone mad and killed him shortly after Orion died. Orion and Walburga were Sirius' parents, they took our son from me when Sirius got arrested."

"Phineas was your son too?" Harry hadn't known that they were together. That made everything about the night his parents died so much more tragic. The poor man had lost all three of his best friends (James, Lily, and Peter), his boyfriend?, and his son. People always felt sorry for Harry, but the truth was he didn't remember his parents so he hadn't ever really missed them, just wished he had them. Remus and Phineas though had known what they were missing out on, and there were many others who lost people in the war and could actually miss them, Harry felt that all those people were much worse off than he was. "Did you adopt Sirius' son or something?"

"No," Remus chuckled, "It is extremely rare but two men or two women can have a child together if they are lucky enough. When we were in fourth year there was a prank and a lust potion had been used to spike our food. Sirius and I succumbed to it.

"I didn't find out our son was conceived until Sirius played what I thought was a prank on Severus by sending him to the Whomping Willow during a full moon the first month of our fifth year After not talking to him for a week I found him sobbing in his bed and finally asked him for an explanation. He had thought he was dying and went to Madam Pomfrey and she told him he was three months pregnant. He had been heading looking for James to tell him that he couldn't come to the Shack for the moon when Severus cornered him and stuck a wand in his stomach.

"He panicked and told Severus where I was when asked, terrified that he would get cursed and loose our baby. I forgave him instantly and begged him for forgiveness for doubting him. Six months later our beautiful baby boy was born. It was complicated but we got to keep our son and stay in school."

Harry was stunned. Two men could get pregnant? Sirius and Remus were and item and had been teenage parents? It was a lot to take in but Harry was happy to know, he was glad that Remus felt that he could tell him these things since everyone else always seemed so determined to keep him in the dark.

"So, how old was he when...when the first part of the war ended?" Harry asked.

"He was eight and two months...He was in the house with you when Voldemort attacked. He didn't say a word from that Halloween night until the Auror's showed up to take him. There was a law in the books that stated that 'If a child who is to inherit a title from an 'Ancient and Noble House' was not being raised by a legal descendant of the house then the current title holder(s) may take custody of the child.' They enacted the law and Walburga and Orion, who always hated Sirius and myself, took him from me and forbade me from seeing him."

"That's terrible," Harry couldn't believe that such a barbaric law existed.

"I would have been able to contest it if I was human and if Sirius and I had ever gotten married. I found out when I was looking into contesting it, that because Sirius was a member of an Ancient and Noble House without being married to him I never actually had any parental rights to our son in the first place. I doubt he knew, the laws had never really interested Sirius. I was so angry at him for abandoning us for the sake of revenge that I let myself believe he was a mass murderer." Remus shook his head. Harry couldn't believe everything that he was learning today. Everything was so much more complex than he had ever believed that it could be.

"Do you think..." Harry hesitated voicing his suspicion, "I mean, how likely is it that Phineas isn't involved in the attacks on Crouch Jr and Wormtail. Everyone else, except Charlie and I, felt that the was dangerous. They said that being near him made the hair on the back of their neck stand up. And if I knew what Phineas know about everything that happened I'd go after Wormtail."

"I don't see how he would have a dementor, their strictly regulated by the ministry, but it's possible I suppose." Remus replied.

"I hope that Sirius gets pardoned soon," Harry decided to change the subject, even if they knew for sure Phineas was behind everything nothing would change, they still wouldn't know where he was or where he had been or why he was here now.

"Me too," Remus wrapped an arm around Harry, "Me too."


	9. Chapter 8: People Change

Focus: Remus

Remus walked Harry back to Gringotts where all the Weasley children were waiting for him. The eight of them headed off for the Leaky Cauldron to floo home and Remus wandered about aimlessly for a while. He still had so many questions about that Halloween night. Now he knew that his son was alive, out there somewhere. He needed to talk to someone. It wouldn't do to write Sirius, letters could be intercepted and the man was impulsive, who knew how he would react to finding out about their son. No, it was best not to upset Sirius with all this until the man was officially pardoned. It was so close to happening now and Remus was unwilling to do anything to jeopardize it.

The only other option he could think of was Severus. Although they often fought Severus and Remus had kept in contact over the years. They usually met for tea during the summer breaks and sometimes during Hogsmeade weekends. There were appearances to keep up in front of the children of death eaters so they had fallen back into boyhood squabbles in front of the children during his year as a professor.

He eventually found himself looking into Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, watching the parents and their young children interact. They hadn't had much money when Phineas had been young. They had decided to spend the small inheritance Alphard had left to his favorite nephew (the majority of it being left to his daughter Andromeda) on a cabin in the woods with fifteen acres of wooded land around it as well as a tall stone wall to encircle the whole property so keep wandering people out and allow Remus to transform outside with his mate and son. Aurors in training weren't paid much and Remus stayed at home to raise their son so money had been tight.

Phineas had been such a sweet and quiet child. Remus often felt quite guilty that they hadn't been able to give the little boy more. He hadn't truly had any close friends. He had played with Andromeda's daughter, Nymphadora, who was just three months older than him every other Saturday. Other than that he had only played with Gideon's and Fabian's young nephews. They had offered to set up play dates on the Saturdays that he wasn't already set up to play with Nymphadora. Remus and Sirius couldn't afford to send him to any of the play schools, nor did they have any friends with children his own age that he could play with.

Watching the parents smile and talk with their young children made Remus' chest ache with longing. He had grieved and raged when Severus had come to him with that news of his son's death. Only, Harry claimed that he had seen a man resembling the picture of Phineas, and that one of his childhood playmates had even recognized him, so it was possible that his son was alive after all. If Phineas was alive then there were other questions left to be answered: Where had Phineas been all these years? Had he run away or been sent away? Why come back now? Why hasn't he come home? Does he even remember home?

Finally, Remus tore himself away from the Ice-cream Parlor's window and headed to the Leaky Cauldron himself and flooed home. From there he sent a message to Severus asking the potions master to come over at his earliest convenience and then started to make tea, only to change his mind half-way through and put milk on for hot chocolate instead.

He just felt numb. After all these years he could get his mate back...and his son? He didn't dare let himself feel the hope that was tempting him. If he let himself feel hope then if anything happened to change things and take his two best boys away again then the grief would kill him, it almost did the first time around. He can't go through that again.

Just as something had managed to make him not enquire more thoroughly after Harry, or check up on the boy himself, the questions that had always just popped into his mind only to be immediately dismissed came back and were starting to bug him. He sat down in him living room to sip at his hot chocolate when the fire turned green signifying the floo flaring to life.

Severus slipped into the room and he and Remus just stared at one another for a minute. Remus was still reeling from everything but seeing his old friend standing in the room was helping him to calm down.

"What's the problem Remus?" He asked sitting down in an empty chair.

"Your Lucius was wrong," Remus said shakily, "Phineas was-is-alive. Harry and the Weasleys ran into him after the World Cup. Charlie recognized him. He and Charlie were...Phineas always said that he and Charlie were going to be together forever. He always referred to him as 'his firefly.' I truly believe that they must have been-are soul mates. When I had Christmas dinner with the Tonks' Andromeda's daughter told me about how distraught Charlie had gotten over the news that Phineas wouldn't ever be coming to Hogwarts. He had only been six the last time they got to play together."

"Lucius implied that Phineas was dead," Severus replied after heaving a deep sigh, "I always got the feeling that even he wasn't sure what exactly transpired. All he could say with any certainty was that when he went to visit Walburga the day after Orion had died he enquired after Phineas, he had always liked him after all, and Walburga informed him that Phineas had been gotten rid of for good."

"So, whatever she did to him wasn't as permanent as she thought," Remus spoke, not really talking to his friend, just thinking out loud.

"I think," Severus spoke slowly, "It is very possible that whatever she did was exactly as permanent as she thought. However, Phineas managed to survive and attack by Voldemort himself six months earlier. I think there was always more to your son than meets the eye. He may have been eight when she tried to get rid of him, but he managed to one up her." He paused here and Remus had never actually seen his friend so solemn, "Remus, I know he's your son. But, be careful, it is possible that he isn't the Phineas that you remember. You say he saw his soul mate and just walked away? That's not a good sign for him being the same person he was when he was a boy. People change."

"I know," Remus said, "None of us are who we were...but, that doesn't mean that I love either of them any less."

"I just ask that you proceed with caution." Severus said, "I'll speak with Lucius, see if he has any idea of what really happened. He doesn't like talking about it, but I'll try."

"Another thing," Remus said, stopping Severus mid rise from the chair, "I feel like, ever since I saw Harry on the Hogwarts Express on the way to school like a fog has slowly been lifting from my mind. There are so many things that I didn't do, things that I thought of but the thoughts always just slipped away, that I can't explain it. I just feel like there is something wrong going on."

Severus nodded, "I-I always chalked your behavior up to grief. Why don't you start writing things down. See if there's a pattern."


End file.
